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Regular Meeting January 14, 2019
The Council for the City of Wilton, Iowa met in regular session in the Council Chambers at City Hall on Monday January 14, 2019. Mayor Robert Barrett called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM and then led the group in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Council Members present at this meeting: Steve Owens, Wayne Budding, Keith Stanley, Sheryl Lenker and Ted Marolf. Absent: none (City Administrator Chris Ball was not present at this meeting)
The agenda was presented for approval. It was moved by Member Lenker seconded by Member Budding that the agenda be approved as presented. The roll was called and the vote recorded as follows:
Ayes: Owens, Budding, Stanley, Lenker and Marolf
Nays: None Motion Carried
The consent agenda was presented for approval. Items included in this consent agenda were: minutes from 12-10-18, 12-21-18 and Dollar General Beer permit. It was moved by Member Marolf seconded by Member Owens that the consent agenda be approved as presented. The roll was called and the vote recorded as follows:
Ayes: Owens, Budding, Stanley, Lenker and Marolf
Nays: None Motion Carried
CITIZEN APPEARANCE:
Fred Grunder, owner of the building at 117 W 4th; was present to discuss his concerns regarding the downtown revitalization. Fred presented a handout to the members showing the cost summary for the upgrades to his building. His has concerns regarding the remaining contingency and the 25% match. Fred stated that he has spoken with Chris about the contingency funds and is questioning what will happen to the money if there is a balance left when the project is completed. He feels there are some minor issues with the renovations at his building that need to be fixed and does not think that the upgrades were done as planned. A walk through was supposed to be done before the end of the project and Fred said this has not been done either. Since the City Administrator was not present at this meeting, these concerns will be discussed with him and report back to Fred. Mayor Barret thanked Fred for attending and bringing the information to the Council.
CONSULTANTS:
Wilton Development Director Becky Allgood reported that she is meeting with school officials and businesses regarding the skilled workforce. A job fair is planned for March 1st at the Wilton Community Center. This is an ongoing project to assist the students in helping them choose a path for their future.
Becky has been invited to speak at the Preserve Iowa Summit on June 6 in Newton. The Preserve Iowa Summit is the premier statewide annual conference for professionals and volunteers involved in historic preservation in Iowa. The theme of this year’s conference, Reinvention through Rehabilitation, draws on Newton’s recent revitalization success where historic preservation was a key part of the city’s economic development strategy. She noted along with historic preservation that Ted and Debbie Marolf’s home at 117 W 6th Street has now been added to the historic list.
Becky is currently working on the revision of the HRDP grant for City Hall. This grant is due in April and she is striving to get good results for this submission.
MAYOR ITEMS:
Engineers are working on setting up meetings for the W Wate and Division Street project. They had done a study in October regarding design and reconstruction of these streets and feel they have enough information to proceed.
Mayor Barrett asked if there had been any recent meetings on the proposed Rec Center project. Chris had attended a meeting with the Scott County Y that was well received. They were working of their own fund raiser and stated they would meet again with Wilton at a later date.
McClure Engineering did a housing concept study in May with a matching funds grant from WTC and REC. A meeting is scheduled for January 29th at which meeting the results of the study will be shared.
A list of the 2019 committees was shared with the members. Member Lenker asked that Muscom, E911 and EMA be added to this list, these are three other boards that she serves on. It was then moved by Member Budding seconded by Member Lenker that the 2019 committees be approved. The roll was called and the vote recorded as follows:
Ayes: Owens, Budding, Stanley, Lenker and Marolf
Nays: None Motion Carried
CORRESPONDENCE:
The 57th annual Chamber dinner is scheduled for Monday January 21st at 6:00 PM. This dinner will be held at the Community Center and reservations are to be made by January 16th.
COUNCIL ITEMS:
A form of agreement for services from Martin Gardner Architects for a proposed reading garden at the Library was presented. The scope of the project was outlined in this agreement. Phase I cost is $7,200 and Phase II is $16,800 for a total of $24,000. It was noted that the Library received $7200 from the Townsend Foundation for the first phase of this project. Members had some questions on this proposed garden and it was the consensus to table this item.
Member Stanley, who is President of the Wilton Pool Board, reported that the Pool budget will be increasing for the upcoming year. The total budget for next year will be $70,000, an increase of $5,000 per year for each the city and school. He also commented that the Pool Board would like to be included in any upcoming Rec Center meetings. There has been talk about combining this proposed center with the current pool and those board members would like to keep informed.
The WCDA is looking at revamping the current Welcome sign on the east end of the city. They are still doing research on the type of sign and possible relocation of the sign. More information will be given to the City when gathered.
Member Marolf said that he is working on a layout for the landscaping around the Freedom Rock. He has talked with Iowa Interstate Railroad since it is near their right of way. They were very receptive and offered their help if needed. Member Marolf also said that the painter (Ray “Bubba” Sorensen II) stopped in Wilton in December to meet with the Freedom Rock committee. When spring is near a detailed concept plan will be presented.
Mayor Barrett and Members remarked that they did not feel the snow removal this past weekend was completed in a reasonable fashion. During earlier snow falls they gave kudos to the public works department, but felt it was disappointing on this clean up. City Clerk stated that the employees were out twice on Saturday and were back out today. They had the downtown area cleaned up and hauled away by noon. On Tuesday they will be back out clearing the corners and radiuses.
No further business, the Mayor adjourned this meeting.
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Mayor Robert L Barrett
Attest:
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City Clerk Lori A Brown